"There was that time…" Leif scratched his ear. "No, that was Forrest. Then there was the time… No, that was me. I've got nothing. What about you, Forrest?"
"He works in maintenance on the subway. I'm sure he has lots of fun down in the tunnels," Forrest said dryly.
Leif laughed. "If there's anyone who knows how to have fun with a tunnel… Wait. It's not Woody. It's definitely me."
"I don't want to think about Woody and tunnels," I said, except now I was.
I shouldn't want Woody’s woody anywhere near my tunnel. I told myself I didn't. He was the last person I should want anywhere near me. Not if I liked to keep breathing, which I did most of the time.
"The moral of the story is Woody likes to have fun in the dark by himself," Leif said.
Forrest chuckled. "That sounds accurate."
Great. Now I was picturing Woody with his hand wrapped around his cock.
He tried to kill you, remember?Bringing me a Diet Coke didn't make up for that. What would?
He'd tried to kill both of these men, and they were his friend. What was it about him that made them forgive him? Maybe it was knowing they could yeet him in front of a taxi themselves if they wanted to. Was that something they'd do?
I looked from one to the other. Of course not. They were normal people. Not killers.
Right?
"Were he and his father close?" I asked. "I mean, Wolfgang didn't mention him, but he didn't tell me much of anything really." He could have had a ton of kids and never bothered to say so.
The fact we never had any was a blessing. I wouldn't have wanted to bring a child into a relationship like that. I would have fled the country first. At least, I would have tried. He would have done everything in his power to stop me. Someone like him didn't let go of his property easily. That made it even more surprising he hadn't mentioned Woody.
"As far as I know, they didn't like each other very much," Leif said. "I think because they were too much alike."
"Yeah," I said. "Both assholes." That tracked.
I guessed they didn't spend much time together. I couldn't remember ever seeing photos of any members of Wolfgang's family. What pictures we'd had on the wall were expensive works of art, nothing sentimental. He wanted to show off his wealth to anyone who visited, not his personal life.
That was fine with me. I didn't want to be surrounded by photos of people smiling for the camera, pretending they were happy. I preferred to appreciate the talent that went into creating the art scattered around the various apartments.
I didn't bother to go through his personal belongings after he died. I threw everything into the trash the first chance I got. No one wouldn't have blamed me. Erasing his existence was the least I could do.
If only I could erase his memory from my brain.
"Let's not talk about Wolfgang," Forrest said. "He's in the past. You know that, right?" He drew me aside as we stepped out of the elevator, and placed his hand on my cheek.
"I know. Good riddance. It's…" I shook my head.
"It was a part of your life."
"Yeah," I raised one shoulder and dropped it slowly. "I made an appointment with the therapist. I want to put it behind me."
"I want to help you do that."
"Me too," Leif said, peering over his shoulder and grinning.
I couldn't help smiling back. He was unexpected. Funny and sweet, and hot as hell. And for some reason I couldn't understand, interested in me.
Forrest lowered his voice so the people walking past couldn't hear.
"Between us, we're going to make you forget him. Give it time. Soon you'll be saying ‘Wolfgang who?’"
I managed a smile. I wanted to believe him.
